Director of Test Engineering

3M HEALTHCARE; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 205,000; Full time

Job summary

Aircapture in Berkeley, California, is looking for a Test and Validation Lead to oversee test labs and develop a high-performing team. This role emphasizes system-level performance testing and quality assurance for Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. The ideal candidate will have over 8 years of experience in test engineering and a strong background in thermofluid systems. The position offers a salary range of $190,000-205,000 per year, and is critical to scaling our climate technology solutions.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in test engineering, systems testing, or experimental R&D with end-to-end ownership.
• Experience managing and developing engineering teams in technical environments.
• Strong physics-based understanding of thermofluid and electro-mechanical systems.

Responsibilities

• Own and operate test labs, developing reporting standards across platforms.
• Lead a high-performing test and reliability team.
• Drive system-level testing of FOAK DAC prototypes.

Skills

Test engineering

System performance metrics

Data acquisition

Thermofluid systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Test labs

Data analysis software

Job description

At Aircapture we’re creating technology to solve what we believe to be our lifetime’s most pressing challenge: the climate crisis. We supply commercial and industrial customers with clean CO₂ captured from our atmosphere to radically improve the environment, our economy, and our lives. We value building a team of people who represent diverse backgrounds—be it through education, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation—to reach our goals. Thank you for considering us.

You will lead the test and validation function that sits at the heart of Aircapture’s path from R&D to commercial technology. Owning system-level performance testing, you will define how we measure and understand our Direct Air Capture (DAC) systems, building a world‑class quality and reliability capability. Performance understanding, repeatability, and reliability are not incidental concerns at Aircapture, they are central to how we learn, improve, and ultimately scale. If you are a hands‑on technical leader who wants to build something lasting at a groundbreaking climate technology company, we want to hear from you.

This role is onsite at our development and production facility in Berkeley, California.

Salary: $190,000-205,000 per year

What You’ll Do Here

• Own and operate test labs, developing data and reporting standards across test platforms
• Lead and develop a high-performing test and reliability team, setting priorities, driving execution, and establishing best practices as Aircapture scales
• Drive system‑level testing of FOAK DAC prototypes, including design envelope and full performance characterization
• Define and own system performance metrics, partnering cross‑functionally as the authority on system performance and data interpretation
• Responsible for data pipeline for test and operational data, from instrumentation to historian and analysis
• Design and implement HALT/ALT testing of components and sub‑systems
• Build Aircapture’s quality foundation including repeatability, FAT requirements, and scaling toward manufacturing
• Develop data‑driven reliability models, including degradation, design‑life validation, predictive maintenance inputs
• Translate test results into actionable feedback loops for design and operations

Your Skills and Experience Include

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physics, or a related field, Master’s preferred
• 8+ years in test engineering, systems testing, or experimental R&D with end‑to‑end ownership of hardware test programs
• Experience managing and developing engineering teams, including hiring, mentoring, and driving performance in fast‑paced, technical environments
• Strong physics‑based understanding of thermofluid and electro‑mechanical systems
• Proven ability to define meaningful performance metrics and build systems to measure them
• Strong instrumentation and Data Acquisition expertise, coupled with advanced analytical skills and ability to work closely with data engineering
• Background in quality/reliability systems, such as FAT, reliability testing, failure analysis, early‑stage QMS
• Self‑directed and decisive in ambiguous environments; full ownership from scoping through delivery
• Excellent cross‑functional communicator; translates data into insight and pushes back when needed
• Bonus: industrial or energy hardware, scaling test/quality functions, reliability engineering or predictive maintenance

Aircapture strives to create a safe, inclusive, equitable, and diverse workplace. Every teammate adds to who we are, diversifying our ideas, experiences, and viewpoints and making us stronger.